I have tried it both ways. Scratching and going under. For me… there is less damage to the comb and fewer cappings going under. But as with almost every aspect in beekeeping… whatever works best for each individual is the way to do it.
With some wet-capped frames i almost have to go under. But the time is the thing for me, scratching is twice as quick. I think I'll be saving up for the Simple Harmony Farms Uncapper for next year. But they're currently backordered and I think got a pretty big price increase too ($300 to $400).
I watched another video where the beekeeper was using an electric knife to uncap frames. I'm going to find one at the Goodwill for a few dollars and try that!
Extracting for the hobbyist can be frustrating. The comb is a good tool. Heat in the room is of great benefit as it keeps the capping pliable.What I do is to use a propane torch to melt the capping. Starting from the bottom up. If the room is warm enough the capping stay fluid. I use the comb on some thicker wax areas. I do mine in my garage end of July.Pick a hot day and fly at it. Come mid August there is usually a dearth that’s when I give the bees the comb to clean up. Helps with the robbing if combs are far from the hives. Cheers.
Use it starting from the bottom up. The cells are at a 17° tilt. Like a wine rack. Lay the frame horizontally as possible looking from the bottom to the top bar. Gently pluck the caps. They'll collect between the forks. Stab, pluck. Stab, pluck. All the way to the top. Wipe. Next row: Stab, pluck..... like 3 cells at a time each stab. Flip, and repeat. The screw should mark the sides of the top bar, not the short sides where the wood is thin and weak.
Whatever one you can get your hands on! If you have a smaller harvest I’d try to get away with borrowing or renting an extractor. I was given my four-frame, hand-crank extractor by a retired beekeeper. If i scale up from here i’ll add a motor to my current extractor first. The big ones are so expensive, if i buy one soon it will be secondhand.
I let the honey buckets sit for 24-48 hours and end up with a thick cap of wax on top. I move that wax straight over to the uncapping tank. Then i pour the honey through a 400 micron strainer.
Big drop in mentoring in my area means people trying to figure out this stuff all on their own. And sometimes struggling in ways you couldn’t anticipate if you tried. People really stopped mentoring during 2020 and i’ve yet to see it pick back up.
I have tried it both ways. Scratching and going under. For me… there is less damage to the comb and fewer cappings going under. But as with almost every aspect in beekeeping… whatever works best for each individual is the way to do it.
With some wet-capped frames i almost have to go under. But the time is the thing for me, scratching is twice as quick. I think I'll be saving up for the Simple Harmony Farms Uncapper for next year. But they're currently backordered and I think got a pretty big price increase too ($300 to $400).
I personally like the little roller deal to roll across the frames with the capitanian it knocks all the tops off of them
I watched another video where the beekeeper was using an electric knife to uncap frames. I'm going to find one at the Goodwill for a few dollars and try that!
Thanks, great demo
Thanks for watching!
Extracting for the hobbyist can be frustrating. The comb is a good tool. Heat in the room is of great benefit as it keeps the capping pliable.What I do is to use a propane torch to melt the capping. Starting from the bottom up. If the room is warm enough the capping stay fluid. I use the comb on some thicker wax areas. I do mine in my garage end of July.Pick a hot day and fly at it. Come mid August there is usually a dearth that’s when I give the bees the comb to clean up. Helps with the robbing if combs are far from the hives. Cheers.
I think Bob binnie has a video on the effect of heat on honey
Use it starting from the bottom up.
The cells are at a 17° tilt. Like a wine rack.
Lay the frame horizontally as possible looking from the bottom to the top bar. Gently pluck the caps. They'll collect between the forks. Stab, pluck. Stab, pluck. All the way to the top. Wipe.
Next row: Stab, pluck..... like 3 cells at a time each stab.
Flip, and repeat.
The screw should mark the sides of the top bar, not the short sides where the wood is thin and weak.
I’m sure that you can get quick at this, but it sounds painstakingly slow. Am i wrong on that?
Excellent! What extractor do u recommend?
Thx
Ds
Whatever one you can get your hands on! If you have a smaller harvest I’d try to get away with borrowing or renting an extractor.
I was given my four-frame, hand-crank extractor by a retired beekeeper. If i scale up from here i’ll add a motor to my current extractor first. The big ones are so expensive, if i buy one soon it will be secondhand.
I used this method but it was such a pain filtering it. Just kept clogging up the filter
I let the honey buckets sit for 24-48 hours and end up with a thick cap of wax on top. I move that wax straight over to the uncapping tank. Then i pour the honey through a 400 micron strainer.
Lol I've never seen anyone use that to just poke holes.
Big drop in mentoring in my area means people trying to figure out this stuff all on their own. And sometimes struggling in ways you couldn’t anticipate if you tried. People really stopped mentoring during 2020 and i’ve yet to see it pick back up.
hi..I'm beekeeper from Greece and I have Chanel in youtube
I don't know what that captain of the world for the that was on my text before but that ain't what I said
Autocorrect?